Field of the Disclosure
The present subject matter relates to supports for railway car air brake hoses, and particularly to railway car air brake hose support brackets that are attached to a railway car coupler and provide support for air brake hose assemblies, which brackets are especially suitable for so-called cushioned railway cars in that the hose support brackets move with the railway car coupler.
Description of Related Art
Suspension devices for railway car air brake hose assemblies are known for suspending the hose assemblies from a variety of different locations of a railway car, including frames, bodies, coupler yokes and couplers themselves. Some suspension devices are intended to allow controlled and limited vertical movement of the air brake hose assemblies that they suspend, such as those resembling flexible and/or adjustable straps. A typical function of such devices is to provide a secondary or safety support mechanism for the air brake hose assembly or a portion of the hose assembly. Other suspension devices within this general category are the spring-style air brake hose supports disclosed in co-pending application of applicant, namely Ser. No. 14/102,049, filed Dec. 13, 2013, incorporated by reference hereinto. Another category of suspension devices is intended to provide primary support for an air brake hose mechanism and typically strive to avoid or seriously restrict any vertical movement of the thus suspended air brake hose assembly at the location where the suspension device engages the air brake hose assembly that it is suspending. The present disclosure falls within this latter category.
Often railway air brake hose assembly suspension is carried out by a combination of suspension devices that includes one or more of each category. By such combination systems, the different categories or types cooperate with each other to safely maintain an air brake hose assembly in place during use and transport while allowing for limited movement of the air brake hose assembly in order to facilitate connection of the air brake hose assembly to the remainder of the railway train air brake mechanism and line along the train while permitting the air brake hose assembly to move as needed in order to avoid undesired uncoupling of air brake connections between railway cars, while still restricting movement of the hose to an extent that uncoupling is accomplished only when desired.
Typically, railway car air hose support systems are provided on each end of a railway car to support the air brake hose assembly above the rails, which function is especially important during transport of the train of railway cars, including while operating at high speed and/or negotiating turns. Some prior art hose support systems attach to the coupler that is at the remote end of a coupler shank that secures the coupler to the railway car. These supports fall into both categories noted hereinabove.